Modern aircraft with side stick controllers typically require that the pilot seating include an armrest that is adjustable to accommodate multiple operators to position their arm to safely and comfortably operate the side stick controller. Once in this position, the armrest must then be securely locked in its new location. Prior art pilot seating has conventionally included an adjustable armrest that is pivoted near the occupant's elbow. The pivot is then movable vertically along the axis of the seat back. This type of armrest is cumbersome to use because must first be adjusted vertically to accommodate the occupant's elbow height, then the angle adjusted so that the occupant's hand is located at the appropriate position relative to the side stick controller. Additionally, because the locking mechanisms must be robust, in order to resist in-flight acceleration, landing and crash loads, prior art aircraft seating often have locks that permit only relatively coarse adjustment (e.g., ratchets) or are unnecessarily slow and cumbersome to use (e.g., screw or worm drives).
Because the ultimate purpose of the armrest is to position the pilot's hand appropriately relative to the fixed side stick controller, what is needed is a pilot seat having an adjustable armrest that is not constrained to tilt about a pivot fixed at the pilot's elbow, but which freely floats (e.g., can be tilted about an axis through the pilot's wrist or any other location) and can be smoothly and effortlessly locked into position.